Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1887-01-29

General Sherman Tells How lie Testec
Them with Ills Teeth

Genera Sherman Tells How lie Tested
Them with Ills Teeth.
General w. r. Sherman has been
prominently identified with matters af
fccting the worlds history independcn
Of his brilliant military career in tn,
civil war. He drew up the first officia
report to the Government Of the Unitet
states OF the discovery Of gold in Cal
fornia. Gold was discovered In tn,
spring Of 1913 about sixty miles abov,
the present City of Sacramento. Gen
cral Mason WAS ut that time In com
mand of the United States forces In
California and acted as military Gov
ernor, with headquarters ut Monterey
the capital of the Territory. Genera
sherman. then n young Lieutenant O
the Third artillery, was the Adjutant o:
General Mason's staff. Yerba Buena.
now the great city of San Francisco.
WAS but a hiGc-tradingpor of four hun
dred native Inhabitants. As soon ~
gold was discovered Captain Sut.er
went down to Monterey with a quaint.
" of samples of the precious metal for
he inspection of the military authori-
lies.
General Sherman, in conversation
with some friends n few evenings since.
referred to this important historical
event substantially rs follows: Cap
tain Suffer brought into General Ma
sons office several small packages q
samples and spread them ont before us.
The specimens presented varied in sizt
from fish scales and split peas up TO tn,
size of beans. General Mason asked i
[ knew how TO test whether this slut
was gold or not. ! said certainly, anC
Immediately tried my teeth on a lump
md made an indcntation, which i'm
pressed me il was malleable. / ther
sent for a hammer and an axe ano
pounded several pieces out flat. This
was a crude but practical test, but w,
then applied acids, which verified the
fact that the samples were genuine
gold. was ut once sent up TO the dig
gings and made n thorough examina.
ton of the gold discoveries which wcr,
rapidly being found in new localities
and in wonderful amounts. l returnet
to Monterey with a quantity of speci-
men samples and drew up the official
report to the Government, which
was signed by General Mason. This
report accompanied with n quantity o:
samples of gold, was forwarded by Il
special bearer Of dispatches, who was
no other than Peary ID. Cooke. recently
tie first Governor Of this District o
Columbia. He was sent off in a small.
sailing-vessel, with instructions to in
tercept a British steamer on the south
ern coast and make rapid transit To
Washington, regardless of expense. We
had not then been advised Of the ratifi-
cation OF the treaty with Mexico ceding
California to the United States, and
were necessarily very anxious that the
Government should possess information
of the discovery of gold at the earliest
moment"
Thus less than forty years ago "Old
Tecumseh's" teeth made the first official
impress. put the first Government stamp
# value on the gold dclved from the
mines of this modern land of Ophir.
And it is Il fair presumption that o
han half of the sixty million inhabit-
.nts of this Republic, who are enjoying
is wonderful prosperity, resulting
argely from the discovery Of gold in
ialifornia, have been born since Gen
,ral Sherman indented the first gold
specimen with his teeth Washington
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